Bavaria

Bavaria is a federated state of Germany located in the southeast of the country. With its capital at Munich, it is the second most-populous region of Germany, and it used to be independent as the Duchy of Bavaria and the Kingdom of Bavaria before joining the German Empire and remaining a part of Germany.

History
Bavaria is located in southern Germany, having a distinct culture from the northern German states. In Bavaria, the majority of the population is Catholic, with almost all of them being South Germans; a minority of Bavarians are Jews or Muslim immigrants. The state of Bavaria includes the Franconia, Upper Palatinate, and Swabia regions, and it has had a rich history as an independent state as well as a German state. Its capital of Munich is the second most-populous city of Germany and is one of the largest as well, and Bavaria has the largest economy out of all of the federated states. In 2013, it had a population of 12,604,244 people.